


but we’re alone now, and I’m singing this song for you

by chll51



Series: in another life, you'd be mine [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M, I'm not even sure there's even development, The AU no one asked for, but I needed something similar to this trope, but I'm still ArMor trash, fake relationship trope, is my cup of tea, or shit, pleaseeeeee, so whatever, somebody writes more ArMor for me to read, this story won't make much sense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-12 13:16:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9073426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chll51/pseuds/chll51
Summary: There are worse things in life than finding Arthur Pendragon in her apartment, uninvited. It's just she couldn't think of them.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: this fic is inspired by some crappy pop songs. I wanted something lighthearted. Ta-Da. Also I don't know how people churn out fics but that's amazing because this was a pain in the ass.

 

There are worse things in life than finding an uninvited Arthur sitting in her shitty one bedroom apartment. She just can't think of them because she's exhausted and the last thing she needed is him.

_Here._

"Of course, the day would get worse."

The chair swivels around and the first thing that she sees is a grin on his damn face, the perfect in every angle and under every lighting, all straight and white teeth smile like he's a walking advertisement for dentists everywhere. "It's been awhile Morgs."

She rolls her eyes and drops her purse on floor. Then she walks into the kitchen and grabs herself a glass of water. She sees him staring from the corner of her eyes and sighs, "I've had a long day, so mind telling me why you're here?"

He chuckles and leaps to his feet. She almost forgets how tall he is. That's the thing with memories; they're never correct, and always end up handsomer, and broader than she remembers. "Straight to the chase," he says; his blue eyes sparkle even under her shoddy kitchen lights. She can't say her heart didn't skip a beat because let's be honest, he's not exactly unpleasant for the eyes, and she always did have a thing for the blond hair, blue eye pretty boys with sharp cheek bones. "I like that."

She forgets that dealing with him means dealing with a whole lot of this. "And I'd like to rest," she responds, and crosses her arms, "So what is it that you want, or specifically, _need_?"

 

 

 

Morgana expected something a long the line of _help me break up with a girl_ because it's Arthur. The guy goes through a revolving door of girlfriends, and just because he's older, it doesn't mean that he has changed. The only thing she doesn't expect is her involvement in whatever half baked plans he has. "You want me," she says, slowly and tentatively, pointing to herself then to him. "To pretend that we're in a relationship at your company's anniversary party?"

He wrinkles his brows in amusement. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"If you have to ask then maybe I have overestimated your understanding of our friendship or lack thereof one, and to be honest, you just broke into my apartment. Not exactly the best foot to start off with."

"Well then," he then chuckles, "More of a reason to reconnect now."

"I don't think you understand what breaking in means," she deadpans. "It's when you enter someone's house without permission. You can be arrested."

He still has an easy smile on his face, shrugging as if it's no big deal. "The landlord let me in."

"Let me guess. You batted those lashes of yours, flashed her the smile and flirted till she didn't know what hit her."

He looks thoroughly impressed. "So you _do_ know me."

" _Unfortunately_."

"So you'll do it?"

She fakes a laugh then says, "Is there a reason why you chose me instead of your girlfriend, or should I say, girlfriends, to be involved with this ridiculous proposal?" Her temple thrums painfully as she inhales deep breaths to ease the sudden pressure. "Heavy emphasis on the ridiculous part, mind you."

"Think about it. A jock and the president of the debate team. I mean, the story practically writes itself. We'd be like a romantic comedy coming to life Morg," says Arthur shamelessly and peers at her with such affection that she almost believes him. It's part of his charm. "We would be great partners in crime."

"First of all, we are not in a movie so stop trying to sell me whatever it is that you think will work,” she says. "Second, I don't do nicknames. Third, we both know that you are incapable of making a commitment, and the moment anything gets serious, you run straight for the hills. Therefore no one would buy the fact that you can commit yourself long enough to bring someone to an event like that.”

He smiles. "You could be the one to change me."

She wrinkles her nose. "I'd rather drink bleach."

He holds a hand to his chest. "Ouch."

She purses her lips, irritated. "Unless I actually hear a reason, the door's to your left."

"Alright," he says, then clears his throat. "The truth is my dad has plans to set me up with one of his business partners' daughter, and I do not want that to happen. I did it once and it ended disastrously so I rather not let history repeat itself. I figure that if I bring a girlfriend to an company event, he'd lay off me until the next big event or you know, until I die, whichever comes first."

She stops herself from chuckling, and keeps a straight face. "And you think that out of everyone you know, I'd be the right candidate to carry out such pretense?"

"Look, I trust you and out of everyone, if you'd help me, it's because you want to, and not because I might owe you or whatever." He's looking at her so earnestly that the _no_ gets stuck in her throat, and she kind of remembers why she kinda and sorta liked him, before he became the cool kid, the golden boy, and the prom king. Like he was sweet, not entirely rude and has moments of sincerity. Like she gets irritated sometimes because Arthur can still get under her skin.

 _Apparently_.

Morgana shuts her eyes, and inhales deeply. She holds her breath and says, "I will think about it, and call you."

His face lights up like Christmas.

 

 

 

She did think about for a few _really long minutes_ in between study breaks. Logically, she shouldn't do it because she'd be complicit in a lie. There's also the other part, the elephant in the room, the sudden, complicated feelings (that never went away) for him that she doesn't even understand, or refuses to acknowledge but that's neither here or there. There's the off chance that she could get to know him now and realizes that the fondness she has for him is just nostalgia. Of course, the opposite could be true, and she could develop further feelings for him.

 _To be or not to be_.

"So you're still thinking about helping him?" Her friend, Kat, asks without looking up from her books. "Because you have sighed like fifty times."

Morgana hangs her head, almost regretting telling Kar about the whole ordeal but she panicked; and when that happens, she tends to over-share with Kat. "Unfortunately."

"He's still attractive?"

She gives it a second before begrudgingly admits, "If you like the blond hair, blue eyes sort of thing."

"You still give two shits about his existence?"

"My heart did that stupid thing, you know, the _ba-thump-ba-thump_ ," she rambles, feeling her cheeks growing hotter. "I don't know. It's stupid."

"It is, but we're all stupid sometimes so I think," Kat says, purposely dragging out her answer. "You should say yes because let's face it, you haven't dated since forever and he's someone you're attracted to. It could be fun and who knows, might help you get over this stupid crush of yours. Plus we both know that if you don't, you won't stop thinking about it, and I won't stop hearing about it."

Somewhere a pig just fly because Kat made a lot of sense.

 

 

 

Morgana dials Arthur's number a day later. Each rings gives her trepidation that she didn't know was even possible. When she heard his voice, she feels the wind knocked out of her lungs. "I'll do it," she says, straining to keep her voice calm, "I will help you." She sees Kat giving her a thumb up, beaming with pride. Morgana still thinks that it's a mistake of some sort. "On one condition."

"Yes, anything."

"No more of that Casanova shit." Kat boos silently and throws a pencil at her, which she ducks just in time from. "Strictly professional."

"Done."

 

 

 

Arthur drags her shopping that weekend because they have exactly two weeks to get everything ready. He tells the salesgirl to bring out the reserved clothing he has on hold, and she doesn't miss the obvious fact that he's pretty-woman-ing her and that the store is purposely empty. "Am I your fake girlfriend?" asks Morgana, resting her head on her arm, with a tilt of her head. "Or your personal project?"

"Can't it be both?" Then he sees her scowl and laughs. "Look, as much as I appreciate your whole hobo-chic aesthetic, I have a reputation to keep. I also would like it so that my girlfriend isn't torn apart for her looks, and before you say anything, I know physical attributes mean nothing and that a woman, or any person for that matter, is always worth more than their physical appearance, and etc. Did I get the things you wanted to say right?"

She scoffs. "Ass."

He shrugs and grab a dress from the rack. "Why don't you try this on, and call me an ass while you're at it? Two birds and one stone sort of thing."

"Fine." She grumbles, grabbing the dress from him. "Just so you know, I am mentally picturing myself kicking you where the sun don't shine."

He smiles wider, unaffected by her threat, and pushes her toward the fitting room.

 

 

 

"Note cards, Morgs? Note cards?" He shakes his head, chuckling like he couldn't believe. There's a fondness on his face that she hasn't seen in awhile like he's reminiscing their years growing up. "I guess things haven't changed much."

She throws a pencil at him. She missed, naturally. "Whatever. Like you have room to judge. You're still trying to please your father. You should tell your father no, and stop all this nonsense in hope for his validation."

Arthur snorts. "You think I fuck around, and get my dirty laundry air in the press for validation?"

"I think having me as a fake girlfriend instead of telling him off is you afraid of his disapproval."

"Trust me, I've tried to tell him. That's why I figure that if I can show him I'm not the marrying type, even with someone I'm fond of or he's fond of, perhaps he will let me lead my peaceful, and single life," says Arthur, dramatically, with a hand to his chest. "I mean, just because he was happily married to my mother at my age doesn't mean I'm fated to the same destiny. The idea of one person fulfilling all your needs is foolish, don't you think?"

"Aren't you just a ray of optimism?" She asks rhetorically. "Do all the girls who dated you know what they were getting themselves into?"

He tosses his head back and laughs. "Trust me, love was not always a necessary force for most of my so called relationships, and we were all willing participants."

"The years have made you a cynic, Arthur." When his eyes linger on her a bit longer than they should, she finds her cheeks burning. "Don't you think that one day you'll find that one person and makes you want to stop all this chaos?"

Amused, he says, "Is this the part where you psychoanalyze me?"

"That depends. Would you listen?"

He smiles, interested, as he leans forward. "Try me."

"I think that you have abandonment issues that stemmed from the death of your mother, and perhaps somewhere in your twenty something years, you placed some hopes on a girl who managed to make you feel better only to ultimately failed you." He stares numbly as if her word impacted him somehow and with his guard down, she manages to cup his face with her hands. She feels him tremble slightly as it renders him still. Her thumbs gently run up and down his cheeks. "God, you're so damaged, sweetie, and you don't even know it. All those walls you built, and the screwing around, blaming her as if she's the cause when really, a therapist would have been much cheaper, less time consuming and made your life better."

His response is a quick one. "Well, a warm sheet is better than an empty one."

She grin like a Cheshire Cat spotting a prey. "Or really I was just bullshitting the whole thing to see what your damage is, and you ended up being the cliché, because you, like most men, like nothing more than to place all your issues on the women in your life."

"Why you—" He surprises her by leaning into her hands, then kisses her palm. She jumps up with a surprise yelp that only makes him laugh harder. "And here I thought we were doing so well on our so called fake study date."

Morgana scowls. "We never said anything about kissing."

"We never said anything about not kissing either," argues Arthur. "Plus, I would hardly call that a kiss. You're still standing."

She narrows her eyes. "Die."

"Someone's a sore loser," he sings.

 

 

 

"So how goes it the pretense front?"

She doesn't bother looking up because she can already imagine Kat's face. "I thought we're studying for a test here," Morgana reminds. "Because talking about Arthur is the last thing I need."

"But it is so much more interesting," says Kat, then she leans forward. "By the way, have you—you know." She moves her brows up and down in a suggestive manner. "Or anywhere close to it?"

Horrified, Morgana says, "Of course not."

"Why not? The boy isn't bad on the eyes and you got a massive crush on him. Wasn't that the point of you saying yes?"

"No," says Morgana, but then a mental image of Arthur comes into her head, which makes heart speeds up, and her hands clammy. "I told him that we'd be strictly professional. No funny business."

"Sounds utterly delightful," she remarks sarcastically. "You do realize that you guys have to pretend to be in a fake relationship for like a night right? Like, he's gonna have to hold your hands and shit. Unless—"

"What?"

"Unless you're afraid of him."

She lets out short, uncomfortable laughs. "What? No. You're crazy. Why would I be afraid of him? What nonsense is that?"

Kat stays silent, but her smirk says everything.

 

 

 

The conversation of what being in a fake relationship entailed comes a week before they have to attend the party. Honestly though, it's more for her than him. She prefers knowing where they stand, and knowing the lines so she won't get confused. Also, she's getting tired of them meeting each other every day and going over note cards. The cards aren't the problems. It's them growing closer. She comes home from school. He comes here after work. They have dinner together and watch shows sometimes. It's irritating how easily he has placed himself into her home, and life. "I just want to be really clear about the boundary between us."

"Oh joy." Arthur puts down his beer and magazine then turns his attention to her. His face freezes. "I mean—"

She notices the dumb look as his eyes skim her up and down. She waits, but after a couple of seconds of him not saying much, she asks. "What?"

He shakes his head. "I just never see you with your curls tied up before."

She rolls her eyes and sits down. "There's a lot of things you haven't seen."

He straightens. "Well then, please _do_ go on."

Morgana tosses a napkin at him, which he manages to catch because he did play sports once upon a time, and also, she's a shitty thrower. She won't stop trying though. One day she'll get him. "I said no more of that."

He holds his hand in surrender. "I just want to say that you used to be more fun."

She wrinkles her nose. "Yeah well, I never had to juggle being funny, and being a good liar at the same time."

"See? That was almost kind of funny," says Arthur, smiling. "Look, you have to relax. After all, this sort of thing only happens once in a lifetime."

"Well, we all can dream," she remarks, dripping with sarcasm. "Perhaps my next fake boyfriend is the guy that I stopped talking to in the first grade. Who knows?"

"One can always dream," he says, with a damning stare. "Though I was kind of hoping I'd ruined you for other faked boyfriends."

Her heart does a loop-de-loop again. "Right, so," says Morgana, after clearing her throat. "I'm glad that we are getting along. I'm just not sure how comfortable I'd feel with PDA, which I am assuming will happen at this party. I mean, if we're going to pretend we're in a relationship, that means certain things should happen while there."

"We won't do anything you're uncomfortable with," reassures Arthur, "I'm fine with holding hands with you all night if that's the only thing you're comfortable with. Just give me a signal if I cross a line and we will leave the moment you stop wanting to be there."

"Right. Hand holding. Good." She lost the ability to speak. Peachy. Just peachy. What else can she say? She can't exactly tell him that it wasn't really what she meant, not now that he's trying to be considerate, when really, she can imagine more than just holding hands after that one time he kissed her palm. In fact, she has dreamt about his perfectly pink lips brushing against her before he takes her in his arms and leads her toward indecency somewhere else. She can't say any of this. Of course not. That'd be preposterous and crazy."I mean—" She stops when she sees him staring. "What?"

"Nothing," he answers, "It's just you sort of look—"

She holds her breath.

"Cute, like this."

Morgana blushes, which is stupid, because he probably says that often, and to many people. She repeats the word stupid a thousand more times just to make sure it really sticks.

"Sorry for that momentary distraction," he says, "Were you going to say anything else?"

Not trusting her voice, she shakes her head.

He gives her hand a small squeeze. "In case I didn't say so before, thank you for agreeing to this ridiculous thing. You're really saving my ass." He then follows her gaze to their joined hand and lets go. He probably realizes as she did that perhaps he has crossed the professional line that they agreed upon "Sorry," says Arthur, suddenly quieter. "I reacted on instinct, not on purpose, not like the last time when I was playing a joke on you. I swear."

She gulps, as the warmth from his hands lingers on her skin. "It's fine," she says; her throat becomes parched and she scratches the back of her neck nervously. She probably could give the desert a run for its money on whether or not it needs water more than her. "Though you're making it a little harder for me to dislike you."

He gives her a look that she can’t quite decipher, and seems like he was about to say something, but changes his mind at the last minute. "Give it a couple of minutes. I'm sure it will go away."

She laughs, prompting him to go back to his magazines reading and drinking his beer. She wonders when the hell did they become this domestic.

 

 

 

A guy asks her out for coffee after class as she's about to leave. At first she thought he meant someone else but he hasn't moved move or said anything along the line of oops wrong person. So she stands there and stares at him because she doesn't know what to say. "I'm Merlin," he introduces, like she doesn't know his name. She's seen him around class, always in the back. His eyes lock with hers and there's a friendly smile on his lips. "Here's my number. Call me whenever you want to grab a cup of coffee."

Then he shyly leaves, and Morgana can't decide if it's a joke or not. When she tells Kat the story, "Merlin? Black hair and blue eyes? The guy that half the girls in our class like because he's mysterious due to the fact that he's quiet? That Merlin?" She asks. "Didn't you once thought he was cute too?"

Morgana nods. "Yeah, but in a purely aesthetic manner. Not like I was dying to meet him or anything."

"Interesting," Kat says, scratching her chin. "Are you gonna say yes?"

She shrugs.

"Is there a reason why you wouldn't?" Asks Kat, with a secretive smile. "It's not like you and Arthur are doing anything. Strictly professional and all, so you're single. He's cute and it's just coffee, right? "

Kat's the worst, Morgana decides.

 

 

 

She finds an inebriated Arthur outside her door at one o'clock in the morning. He lifts his head, and gives her a dopey smile. His face is redder than a tomato and his eyes are glazed. "Hi."

She pinches the space between her brows. "Please tell me that I am—" She stops midway when Arthur drops forward and she's forced to catch him. The impact almost send her tumbling down. He reeks of liquor, and she can barely holds his 6ft frame against her 5ft3. It's during a time like this that she wishes that she had joined a gym of some sort because she hasn't felt weaker. "Damn it, Arthur."

"I saw her," he whispers; a sobbing noise escape his throat. "I—"

She sobers up quickly. "Who?" Her heart pounds loudly as she holds the breath she's inhaled. "Arthur?"

He has drifted off before she could get an answer. She sighs, then gathers all she has to carry him over to the couch. She's careful to be gentle and once he's safely on it, she turns off the light. This conversation is probably best served when he's sober, and she doesn't feel like she's been hit by a car.

 

 

 

"Ah, sleeping beauty has finally woken up," Morgana says loudly and watches him squirm from the light coming in.

He tosses and turns. His hands tug at the blanket, trying to pull it over his face. Unfortunately it's too short for him. Finally he sits up and wipes his eyes. "Please. Quieter," he says, pleadingly then takes the glass of water and two aspirins she's offering. "I'm sorry if—" He does some random hand motion as if she understands what he's trying to say. "You know." His ears turn red. "I crossed some sort of line last night. I didn't do anything right?"

Morgana doesn't think he's capable of being sheepish before this moment, to which she laughs. "You woke me up then kind of fell asleep in my doorway."

"Oh that's good," he then coughs. "I mean, not my greatest moment but—"

"Do you want to talk about whatever or _whoever_ it was that made you drank last night?"

He looks down. His fingers wrestle with one another in his laps. The color of his cheeks match his ears. "I—I sort of ran into an ex," he says then looks up. He seems so bared and vulnerable; it's a new look on him and she kind of likes it. "I guess I didn't see it coming."

Something gnaws at her chest. "Exes. They can be hard to get over," she says, not knowing what else to say. Her mouth tastes bitter.

"Have you?"

She almost chokes. "What?"

"Ran into an ex and got stupidly wasted?" asks Arthur, looking at her.

She forces a smile and shakes her head. "Still waiting on that one."

 

 

 

"I'm not understanding what you're saying."

Of course Kat doesn't, Morgana thinks as she paces around the study room in frantic mode. It makes no sense. Nothing makes sense because she feels hurt; and she's not supposed to feel hurt since she knows about this coming in. It was supposed to be a silly little crush that she would get over, not grow into a full blown, _hey I actually like you sort of thing_.

"And stop that nerve-grating pacing thing that you do. It's giving me a headache."

She halts her steps. "I'm saying that a month ago, this guy wasn't even in my life and now, I'm going to meet his father this Saturday, and pretending to be his girlfriend. It's actually happening."

"You signed up for this, remember?"

She runs her fingers through her hair, and releases cries of frustration. "Right, I get that, except this stupid part me—"

"Which part of you?" She has such a suggestive look on her face that Morgana would blush except Morgana's used to this side of her. "The head, the heart or the—you know—"

She glares. "I'm glad you're finding this hilarious. "

"It's gonna be over in like three days. He's not going to stick around, and you can finally go on that coffee date of yours with the cute guy from our class."

Right, except her thoughts about Arthur hasn't been friendly at all, and she would like it so much if he would just push her against a wall and kiss her like he needs air, like she wants to have his hands on her, and how she's starting to wish that this fake relationship is real. Of course, she can't say any of this to Kat because it's stupid. Everything is stupid and out of control. "No, you're right. It's probably the nerves that this is becoming a real thing," she says instead. "We will go back to how we were. Friends but not really."

 

 

 

The Pendragon manor sits on the top of a private hill that's laced with security guards and video cams. There are flashes of light and most that attend are either from Old Money inherited down from generations, or people that she reads or sees on TV. It feels like she has stepped into an glamorous scene about the rich and famous. She then glances over to Arthur, who's tailored in a navy suit that emphasizes his shoulders and chest, and his hair is styled to the side, in a neat, rolled out of bed look. She also tries not to think about the dress she's wearing, or the fact that she's been cleaned, clothed, and groomed. That and eyes are all on them, making her feel bared and uncomfortable. "You need to relax your shoulders." His warmth breath makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and her pulse to quicken. "Try to look like you'd not rather be anywhere else but here."

"Easy for you to say," Morgana whispers back with a plastered, faked smile, "You're not the one in the tight dress, and had only two weeks to prepare."

"Would it help if I say you're looking beautiful?" Then he stares at her; there's no teasing, or humor in voice or face. She can feel the butterflies forming in the pit of her stomach. "Truly."

She looks at him, and before she could say anything, he directs his attention toward people as they come and greet him. She spaces out for a moment or two to take in the sight. He's so comfortable chatting, and laughing with a natural charm that he feels like a completely different person. It dawns on her that in all the time they spent together, she actually doesn't know him that much at all.

When he glances back at her, she avoids his eye contact though their hands remain linked.

 

 

 

Uther Pendragon is smaller than she remember, though to be honest, the last time she saw Arthur's parents, his mother was still alive. He has grey hair now, and granted, while Arthur towers over him, Uther's presence is a commanding one. Once he laughs, the awkwardness fades. He then gives her a tight hug and makes her feel at ease. "I didn't think Arthur would ever bring a girl around to meet me," Uther says, smiling widely. His grin matches Arthur's. "I'm glad he decided to surprise me."

Arthur brings her hand close to his chest and looks down at her with a gaze that sends her reeling and knees shaking. "I guess I was just waiting for the right one."

Uther looks almost proud.

 

 

 

There's a moment when everything just click, like it all makes sense that this is why certain things happen. For her, it comes after she came back from the bathroom and spotted Arthur talking to someone down the hall like they're trying not to be seen or heard. When she walks closer, she sees a gorgeous brunette with glowing olive skin and a smoky, sophisticated voice.

A voice goes off in her head that this is wrong because she's eavesdropping on an important moment between them; but when she sees the girl reaching for Arthur's arm, jealousy bubbles over and she couldn't leave.

He flings it off and says _don't touch me_ in a tone that makes Morgana cringes. It's cruel and meant to hurt. Morgana watches at the girl's eyes turn glossy as she pleads for him to listen. All the things Arthur said came rushing back.

_I did it once and it ended disastrously so I rather not let history repeat itself._

_I sort of ran into an ex._

_I guess I didn't see it coming._

Before Morgana realizes what's happening, she has already made her way to him and grabbed onto his arm. Then she runs a hand up the collar of his jacket. "There you are." She pulls him in for a kiss, a brave move if she does say so herself, but she's high on adrenaline of some sort and surely, she'll regret this tomorrow. But today, she's still playing a role. When they pull apart, he looks shock but he recovers quickly. She breathes heavily and glances over at the girl. "Oh my god. I'm sorry. Where are my manner? I'm Morgana."

The girl looks hurt, and it makes her feel bad. Sort of. "I didn't know you brought someone," the girl replies, not glancing at Morgana once. "If I did, I wouldn't have—"

"She's my girlfriend." Arthur interrupts then pulls Morgana closer and holds her by the hand. "This is Gwen."

Gwen smiles but she looks like she's about to fall apart instead. "Hi."

"How do you guys know each other?" asks Morgana, feigning ignorance.

Gwen speaks up first. "I'll let Arthur answer that question." Then she excuses herself, leaving them alone.

Morgana waits as Arthur keeps his eyes on Gwen's retreating back. Her hand's still in his grasp and the silence's deafening and she hates it so much. She doesn't recognize this side of him because he was always cheery, and flirtatious; and she can't decide if it's a good or bad thing to see him this exposed. Regardless, it's stupid to be this affected by someone whom two weeks ago wasn't even in her life. "She's the one, isn't she?" Morgana asks, because she wants confirmation for her hurt. "That's why you didn't want to come here alone. You were afraid that—"

He takes her mouth like he's sure she would welcomed or wanted it. Her logical thought should be to stop him but then his tongue dips between her lips to caress hers, and he tastes of champagne and strawberries that she slips her arms around his neck and runs her fingers through his hair instead. She moans as he moves over her jaw and down her throat as he pushes her against the wall. He nips the spot where her neck meets her shoulder and then continues down. Alarms go off and she pushes him off. As much as she has thought about this moment, his thoughts are on a different girl; and the realization of that hurts her more than anything.

It seems to wake him up. "I'm so sorry." He looks regretful, and it makes her feel worse. "I didn't—"

"It's fine," she says sharply, hoping that her nerves would calm down. Her fingers can't stop shaking, but it's either this or burst out crying and that's the last thing she wants him to see. "I kind of pulled the same stunt prior to yours, so we're even."

He bows his head, looking down. "You're too kind to me right now."

She moves a hand to her neck and feels the remnants of his kisses. "Well, I have a policy of not kicking a man when he's down, even if that man wasn't completely truthful about why he needed my help," she lightly jokes, straining to keep her voice steady. "Enjoy my kindness while it lasts."

His face crunches uncomfortably. "Did I look that pathetic?"

"For the record, you're such a cliché." She then hesitates before adding, "And also for the record, she looks like she still have feelings for you so do with that what you will."

A ray of hope flashes on his face, and she tries her damnest to hold herself together.

 

 

 

Morgana smooths out her skirt and hair. She's anxious and nervous, and she can't remember what she should do with her hands; so she ends up tapping her fingers on the table like a craze lunatic, which she's sure the other patrons aren't quite keen on. She stops when she sees them staring. It's been two months since she last saw Arthur. After he dropped her off, they said their goodbye with a handshake because how do you say _hey thanks for playing the role_ and _sorry for the kiss and other things_? She doubts there's a card for that.

Morgana can't say she isn't disappointed that she hasn't seen or heard from him but she figures, it isn't like they had a close friendship. Therefore it makes sense that they went back to how things were. She's the one that amplified his gestures, not him. He was doing what was necessary to create a closeness between them. Of course, she also bought four pints of ice cream and waited until finals ended to eat them with Kat and cried over a stupid boy.

"Sorry the drinks took awhile."

She pushes Arthur from her thoughts, and smiles. "Thanks, Merlin," says Morgana, as she takes a latte from him. He's nice, and Kat was right. Why shouldn't she see where this could go? She likes him enough, and obviously, there's mutual attraction. "Is there something in my face?"

He blushes, embarrassed that he's caught. "Sorry. Old habits die hard."

Amused, she asks. "So you have a habit of staring at me? Or do you do it to all the ladies?"

"No... Um.. Of course not." His right hand then clumsily runs through his hair as he looks down; cheeks turn a shade darker. "I mean, not that I don't not stare. At you."

She tilts her head and raises a brow quizzically.

"What I'm trying to say is—" He takes a deep breath and lets it out all at once. "I'm really glad that you called." He puts his hand on top of hers, and gosh, it'd be so easy to just fall for him. He's nice, and he likes her. "I kind of—"

Her phone dings. "Sorry," she says, and reaches into her bag. She sees Arthur across the screen and creases her brows. She then turns off the sound and returns her attention to him. "What were you saying before my phone rudely interrupted?"

"That I'm glad—"

The phone vibrates noisily two more times.

"I can wait," he says. "You should answer. It could be an emergency."

She gives an apologetic look and opens the messages. _Hey. Where are you?_

What the hell, she thinks, then types back. _Busy._

Before she could put the phone back, he replies again. _I'm at your place. Come home._

Her heart leaps into her throat. _On a date. Stop breaking in to my place_. Morgana makes sure to turn it silent then tosses the phone back into her bag before she could be distracted with another text, even though her pulse won't stop racing. Her cheeks feel hotter. "I'm sorry about that—" When she looks at him, she notices a dejected smile on his lips. "It won't happen again, promise."

Shaking his head, "I think maybe our timing's wrong," says Merlin. "Perhaps next time."

They both know there would be no next time.

 

 

 

Morgana finds him sprawling across the couch with the TV on with a magazine on his lap and closes the door with a thud. "You know, once is an accident, but twice is on purpose. On top of that, you sent me 5 texts. I should call the cops."

Arthur turns off the TV, and looks back at her. A goofy grin spread across his face as he gets to his feet. "You could." His voice is light and teasing. "But we both know you won't."

"And why is that?"

A arrogant smirk splays across his lips. "Call it intuition."

Rolling her eyes, Morgana walks over to the fridge to grab a soda, and he follows along. This almost feels like deja vu. "Before you leave, I'm going to need that key back."

He leans against the fridge and sighs. "You're not even going to ask me why I'm here?"

She closes the fridge pops the can open. It burns her throat going down. "I assume it's because you want to perfect your break-in skill."

"Nice guess, but no," says Arthur. "Also I have the key so it's not a break in."

Whatever it is that he's amused by, the feeling isn't mutual. "Then why are you here?"

"I did what you said. I sought out Gwen."

Well isn't that a kick in the nut. "Good. Great," she says unconvincingly. She's sure that he sees through her but she really couldn't care less. She feels so foolish because she ruined a perfectly good chance with a decent guy for this, for him because she thought that something could happen. Like Arthur coming here actually mean anything more than him wanting to disclose something to a friend. The guy did disappear on her for the past two months. "I'm happy for you."

"You know—" His voice turns her attention toward him. "When you're lying, you have this unpleasant look on your face like you smelled something revolting, and that it physically pains you, and your eyes can't stop twitching. I can also see moisture forming on your forehead. It's like watching someone's about to plummet to their death."

"Well excuse me," she huffs, offended. "Not all of us can look beautiful all the time."

"Look, I can see that this conversation is getting nowhere," he says, clicking his tongue. "I just want to say that because of you, Gwen and I really talked. Like we hashed everything out and for the first time, were really honest with one another."

She puts the can down and sighs. Obviously, her sarcasm didn't catch on and he isn't going to stop. The least she could do is be a friend and lend a listening ear. The convenient store down the street is going to thank her for buying all his ice cream tonight. "You do know that it has nothing to do with me, right? Like you've talked to her anytime you wanted if you actually stopped being a dick about things," says Morgana, then make a mental note to stop rude and taking her frustration out on him. "I mean, are you guys back together?"

"We aren't back together," explains Arthur, amused. "Whatever broke us the first time stuck, but it did make both of us honest about our shortcomings. Like her trying to make me jealous with Lance and me, not putting her first. We were young when we met. She deserved a lot better from me when we were together. I guess after we broke up, it was one of those things I never quite moved on from because she was the first."

"I'm glad you got closure." Morgana tries to push past but he blocks her way. They end up doing that awkward dance to the left and right until she gives in and accepts that he's not letting her pass. She looks up at him, irritated. "What are you doing?"

"Shhh..." He then runs his hands up her arms and settles at her cheeks, startling her.

"W-what are you—"

He presses a quick kiss to her lips and pulls back before she could even register it. "You weren't getting my message," he explains. "So I just want to make it really clear."

She whispers. "To make what clear?"

"I like you, and I don't know what's going to happen," says Arthur, still cradling her face in his hands. "But I want to try to see if there's anything here, and I know that it's rather backward. We faked a relationship first but like you said, I'm a cliché."

She smiles and tiptoes to kiss him.

 

 

  
"He did what?! And you did what?!" Kat's voice echoes from the phone through the room. Good thing Arthur stepped out to grab some food so he can't hear what Kat is saying. "Wait—does that mean Merlin's single?"

Morgana laughs. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Great, give me his number."

 

 

 

_\- fin_


End file.
